


Something borrowed, something blue...

by JuliaBaggins



Category: Eurovision Song Contest RPF, Festival di Sanremo RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Wedding Store, Ermal's friends are the best, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 07:46:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16058681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaBaggins/pseuds/JuliaBaggins
Summary: Ermal works in a store for wedding clothes, and a certain customer might have a smile that's a little too cute to not fall for it...





	1. Chapter 1

Under a bright blue spring sky, Ermal walked towards his workplace with a smile on his lips. He finished his coffee and then opened up the door of the little store for festive clothes, mostly for weddings, he worked in, greeting his friend Andrea who was just busy with newly decorating the shop’s window. When Ermal had started his job here, he had seen it as just an opportunity to earn some good money, but quickly, he had discovered that he actually enjoyed working there more than he thought he would. It turned out to be pretty relaxed on most days, and seeing the happiness in the eyes of people who soon would get married when they looked in the mirror for the first time when wearing _just the right_ dress or suit, it was really cute. And of course there also were other days, with breakdowns and not finding the right things and annoying relatives, but on most days, it was nice, and on some, even better than nice. And surely it never got boring.

Ermal wondered what kind of day it would be today when he looked into their sparkly golden calendar book - just one appointment, at 11, and the bride that was going to come visit didn't give any clues about what she'd like before, so there wasn’t much for Ermal to do to prepare. He asked Andrea, who happened to be the son of the lady who owned the store as well as the one who got Ermal the job, if he would fine on his own for a moment, and then went outside for a quick smoke. After that it nearly was 11, so Ermal checked his hair bun, his blue button-down shirt (not too fancy, but also not too casual, there's a thin line there but he thought he managed it quite well) in the mirror and then got his best customer smile ready.

The woman that walked in a minute before the clock stroke 11 was gorgeous - and _alone_ , which was rather unusual. Most times, a bride to be came there accompanied by two or three other women; their mom, a sister, a best friend. Ermal liked the moms most - yes, it sometimes might be a little hard to find something that matches their daughter's taste while they don’t hate it, but it was so wonderful to see the happy tears in their eyes when they see their little girl stepping out of the cabin in their dream dress for the first time. (And sometimes, Ermal caught himself wishing to see exactly that look in his own mom’s eyes one day, when it would be the time for him to get married.)

Whenever it was more than three people coming along to give their advice to the bride, Ermal usually had to hide his annoyance sooner or later - a bunch of cousins or a whole bachelorette's party, that was just too much to fit everyone's opinion under one hat.

 

The woman that had just walked into the store took off her sunglasses and went over to Ermal, extending her hand with a smile. 

"Hi, my name's Giada, I've got an appointment?" 

"Yes of course, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Ermal, I'm your assistant for today and I hope we'll find just the perfect wedding dress for you today." 

"Well I certainly hope that too", she said with a grin, and Ermal decided that he likes her.

For a moment, Ermal wondered if he should ask Giada if she was still expecting someone, but he decided against it - she seemed happy and confident on her own, and as Ermal didn’t actually know her, he didn’t want to make her sad or anything. So he just led her to the back of the store, showed her a soft plushy chair and asked how she'd like to start - if she already had her own ideas or would like him to suggest something. And when she just opened her mouth to answer, they heard a voice from the front of the store.

"Giada?", the voice, a deep voice, male, accented, called, and shortly after, the owner walked around the corner. 

Ermal saw a man, maybe a little older than himself, covered in tattoos, sunglasses on as well as ripped jeans and a shirt without sleeves, and for a moment, Ermal worried. Worried because he remembered one particular bad day, shortly after he had started working here, when a groom to be had stormed into the store all angry, yelling at his bride that everything in here would be way too expensive, and when Ermal had politely asked him to leave, the man had shoved him so hard against a shelf filled with white high heels that Ermal had fallen down and hurt his wrist in the process. Andrea had called the police later, and Ermal still didn’t like to think about this day. So now, when being faced with this man and all his tattoos, storming in here, he tensed.

 

To Ermal's relief, the man started to smile as soon as he saw Giada, and she stood up, walking towards him to kiss him on both of his cheeks. 

"I'm sorry I'm late, there was a traffic jam and then Libero couldn't find his football shoes when I wanted to drop him off at his training; you know how our little darling sometimes is", and Giada laughed. 

And the tiny bit of interest that just had started to blossom in Ermal's chest when he had seen that gorgeous smile of tattoo-man, the hope that maybe he was Giada's brother or something, it died a violent death. Because that surely sounded like those two had children, _together_. Yes, it might be unusual for a groom to join his bride when buying her wedding dress, but in Italy it also still was considered unusual to have kids before your wedding to this day, and Ermal figured that those two just were a bit unconventional, open minded. And probably very much in love, judged by how they were laughing together.

Ermal asked if he could get them anything, and Giada promptly answered "Yes, Fabri here will need a suit!" 

Well, actually he had been talking about drinks, but this was fine too. They had a small but nicely put together department of suits, and Ermal was sure that they could find something nice for him, or at least something that could be adjusted by their tailor later.

They agreed that the man - _Fabri_ , as it seemed - would have a look at the suits himself while Ermal helped Giada to sort through some dresses. Ermal and Giada made small talk that soon found the topic of her kids, two of them, that Giada seemed to love more than anything. Two kids she had together with Fabrizio, and Ermal forbid his mind to even go there. Between thinking that this man would cause trouble and learning that he was going to get married, there couldn't even have been a minute, and yet, this seemingly had been enough for Ermal's fantasy to focus on those tattoos, those muscles, those eyes a little too much. _Damn._

 

Giada just inspected a mermaid-cut dress in a hint of cream colour, lace woven into the fabric and an elegant open back, when they heard Fabri's voice again. 

"Ähm, I'm sorry, Mr. Clothes Expert, could you help me for a second?", and both Giada and Ermal chuckled at that. 

Giada told him to go, she would be fine, and Ermal joined Fabrizio, realizing that he hadn't introduced himself to the man yet. And quickly forgetting about this fact, maybe even his name, when he saw the suit that Fabri had picked out. It was blue, dark but still noticeable not black, a fabric that was a little shiny but not much, and whenever he had looked through the suits they had stored, this one had been Ermal's favourite. And _wow,_ Fabri did pull it of nicely, his tanned skin looking amazing in combination with the blue.

"How can I help you?", Ermal choked out, and Fabri smiled at him. 

"Well, I like this suit, quite a lot to be honest, but I think the jacket doesn't really fit?" 

Ermal walked around Fabri once, twice, glad to have an excuse to let his eyes roam over his body, and then he nodded.

"Yeah, if you decide on this one we'd need it to be a little adjusted around the shoulders. Our shop has a tailor we've been working together with for years and he'd be able to get that done in no time, he just needs your measures and everything should be fine."

"Okay", Fabri just said, and Ermal was a little confused. 

"Would you like to try some other suits?" 

"No, actually not. I love this one", he explained, and then he touched the fabric with his right hand, letting it roam down his side, and _dear lord,_ Ermal wished this would be his hand.

"Alright, then this is your suit", Ermal said, once he had his thoughts under control a little more.

"You said something about measuring?" 

"Oh, yes, right, sure, of course."

Ermal quickly got his tape measure from a table nearby, certainly not stumbling over his feet while going there, and then asked Fabri to take off the jacket so he could measure his shoulders. He did so, his fingers sometimes touching sun-kissed skin where it wasn't covered by his shirt, and Ermal was fine, 100%, nothing wrong here. Not at all. He finished, wrote down everything, his fingers certainly not shaking even the slightest bit, and then, Fabri started to get out of the suit's pants.

Ermal realized that yes, all the changing rooms were over where Giada was, and as he hadn't seen Fabri again since he had gone towards the suits, this meant he had changed into the blue suit just here, in this lonely corner of the store. Which meant he was going to change back now. In front of Ermal. He spotted some thigh muscles, and nope, this would be too much. So Ermal quickly excused himself, mumbling something indecipherable.

 

Just to have some kind of an excuse to why he had left, Ermal joined Andrea at the store's front desk and gripped a plate with cookies from there, carrying it back with him towards the back of the store. Where Fabrizio, again in ripped jeans, was sitting in one of the plushy chairs, his eyes fixed on the closed curtain that Giada was behind.

"Would you like a cookie?", Ermal asked, proud of how casual his voice sounded, and Fabri took one with a smile and a "thank you". 

Shortly after, Ermal internally cursed his sister - yes, she was a great baker, and Ermal was glad when she made them something for the store, but really, _chocolate chips?_ That got warm in people's fingers when they touched the cookies? Causing them to melt in these people's tattooed fingers? Then resulting in those people, _people in general_ , it was not like Ermal had someone certain in mind, to lick the chocolate of the fingers? And their lips? _Seriously?!_

Ermal promised himself to tell Sabina some words about this, or rather not, because he couldn't stand even the thought of her teasing him about.. _this_. But still. How dare her.

 

And then, Giada stepped out behind the curtain – wearing a snow white dress that only was decorated by some pearls around the neckline and as a belt, and she simply looked _stunning_ in it. Ermal saw it in her smile, the one she had on when she slowly turned around herself in front of the mirror - that this was _her_ dress.

"You look wonderful", Fabri commented, and nope, that didn't hurt Ermal. Not at all, and especially not with how true it was. And oh lord, those two would look so terribly gorgeous in front of the altar together, him in that blue suit and her in the dress that was as simple as it was elegant, and Ermal sighed. Just a little bit, internally.

 

_\- A few minutes earlier, while Ermal was getting the cookies -_

_"Fabri, did you find a nice suit?"_

_"Oh yes, a blue one, it's pretty."_

_"Well, it's not the only pretty thing in here, isn't it?"_

_"I've got no clue what you're talking about, not at all."_

_"Aww now come on Fabriiiizio, I_ know _you!"_

_"Your point is?"_

_"You're single, that curly one is cute, you're clearly into him and you still haven't told me who your +1 at my wedding will be. Sounds like it might work well together, with one single solution for all of this?"_

_"Giada no, it isn't like that, like, not at all!"_

_"Fabri please, where's the problem?"_

_"He's really cute-"_

_"My point_ exactly!" 

_"And he's probably straight."_

_"I really don't wanna get into clichés here, but how many straight dudes do you know who work in stores for wedding dresses?"_

_"Hngh, even if he isn't, he's taken, for sure."_

_"How can you be so sure about that??"_

_"Giada, have you_ seen _him? His hair, his smile? He’s just so, oh shit, he's coming back!"_

 

"That dress suits you perfectly, and I'm sure you'll be a gorgeous bride", Ermal told Giada, his smile in place, and she beamed at him. After a few more glances at herself in the mirror, she went inside the cabin again to get dressed back, and Ermal looked at Fabri, unsure of what to say.

The other man looked back, right into his eyes (and who even does that with strangers?, Ermal asked himself), and then down, nearly as if he was shy. 

"Your shirt is nice", Fabri said, and Ermal answered with an "Oh yeah, we also sell them, over there". 

Well, this hadn’t been what Fabri was going for, not at all.

Fabri chuckled lowly, not sounding too amused at all, and while Ermal still was confused, Giada emerged out of the cabin, back in her purple shirt and jeans shorts. She linked arms with Fabri while they walked towards the register, and Giada paid for her dress via credit card. Andrea typed everything into the computer, and then assured Fabri that they would phone him once the suit was ready.

Giada hugged Ermal goodbye, kissing both of his cheeks which made him smile - it wasn't her fault after all that she was going to marry the man of Ermal's dreams. And wasn't it better to know him to be together with someone when he wouldn't have stood a chance against that someone anyways? At least that was what Ermal told himself while he watched gorgeous Giada wave goodbye at Andrea, and then, he was faced with Fabrizio standing in front of him, a little awkwardly. 

"Thank you", he said and Ermal shook his hand. Not holding on too long, not at all, and then, when the happy couple had left the store, Ermal finally could sigh the sigh he had been holding in that whole morning.

 

Andrea just watched him with a raised eyebrow, and then asked a question.

"Someone caught your interest there?" 

"What, no, why would you assume-" 

"Well you certainly looked a little dreamy when getting those cookies, and now you look as heartbroken as if the love of your life had just walked out of here." 

And Ermal wanted to get out of this conversation, _now_ , because this was getting dangerous. The reason being not only that Andrea was absolutely right, no. Because as much as he appreciated Andrea as his friend, he was not sure if he was ready to face his reaction once he would find out that it hadn't been Giada that caught his interest, as he surely assumed, but rather her fiancé.

"Ermal?", Andrea asked, his tone a little worried as his friend had been silent for so long. "Listen, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tease you too much. But you can't deny that you think that he was cute." 

"Okay yeah, I-w, wait" 

"Ermal? Oh gosh now you're worrying me, you're pale as a piece of paper", Andrea said and quickly guided Ermal over to a chair.

"What did you just say?", Ermal whispered, and Andrea looked even more confused. 

"That you're pale like paper?" 

"Before that", Ermal clarified, his voice even lower. 

"That I'm sure that you think that this dude was cute."

Ermal sucked in a breath. "You", he started, and then stopped again. 

And finally, it dawned on Andrea. 

"Oh", Andrea started, and Ermal prepared himself for the speech he feared so much. Only to be surprised once again. 

"Ermal, did you think I wouldn't know? Or that I, God forbid, that I would _mind_ you liking dudes?"

Ermal didn't say anything, and Andrea did the only thing he could think of - hugging his friend close and not letting him go. 

"Ermal, I want you to listen to me now, carefully. I love you, you’re a wonderful friend, I can't think of anyone with whom I'd rather work together, rather make music with. And I wish for you to be happy, with whomever you like. If that happens to be a dude, I couldn't care less, as long as he makes you happy. You hear me?"

Ermal nodded, not trusting his voice right now, and being glad for the hug that allowed him to hide his face in Andrea's shoulder. Once they let go, Ermal was smiling, a little hesitant, but still. And Andrea smiled back, very relived. 

"Are you okay?" 

"Yes, I am, thank you. I'm okay, and I'm”, Ermal took a deep breath, “and I'm bisexual." 

And then Ermal's smile turned bright. 

"That's the first time I actually said this out loud", he admitted, and now Andrea had to fight against a tear himself. 

"Thank you for trusting me with this. I'm so proud of you"

 

Shortly after, their friend Marco, who worked just down the street, walked into the store, to pick Ermal and Andrea up for their lunch break. When he saw Ermal sitting in the chair, Andrea crouched in front of him, both of them with emotions written all over their faces, he stopped. 

"Did someone die?", Marco asked, and Andrea shook his head. 

"No, no don't worry, nothing bad happened. There just was a little.. crush situation here. It's all fine now, don't worry." 

Marco didn't seem totally convinced, but he didn't ask any further. And when he saw how pale Ermal was (not as much as earlier, but still), Marco made sure to drive them to his favourite little restaurant for lunch.

Ermal smiled happily when they managed to snatch a table in the corner of his fave restaurant, and they talked about music, football, the food. All the while Ermal felt like he should tell Marco too - he trusted him, they had been friends since forever, and he still felt some kind of high from telling Andrea, and learning how well he had reacted.

"Marco?" 

"Hm?", Marco looked up from his tiramisu. 

"Andrea was right earlier, I might have gotten a little crush during work today." 

"Okay." 

"And, well to be honest, the person that I might have been crushing on a little-" (in that moment, Andrea had to cough, and through some very weird circumstances, his cough sounded suspiciously like "a little?!?") "well, that was a man."

"Okay", Marco said again, and then continued to eat his tiramisu. Ermal was lost. 

"Marco? Would you maybe, I don't know, like to _say_ something, something more?"

"Like what?", Marco looked up again, now sounding confused too.

"Marco, you gotta know that Ermal here was worried that we would mind him being not straight", Andrea explained, and Marco's eyes turned wide. 

" _Oh_ , shit, Ermal I'm sorry, I thought you knew that we knew, or well, kinda, and just - you're my best friend, you know? Nothings gonna change that." 

Then Marco smiled at Ermal, the same smile he had been smiling at his friend for years, and Ermal felt like he could cry, _again_ \- this truly was an unusual day.

 

"And now, will you tell me about this crush-worthy dude?", Marco asked with a smile, and Ermal blushed. And ended his description of how good Fabri had looked, especially with the blue suit, with a sigh and a "gosh they're going to look so great at their wedding".

"I'm sorry", Marco answered, clapping him on the shoulder. 

"But there are other nice dudes out there, plenty of them - maybe we could help you find someone?" 

Now that sounded like a threat, and Ermal needed to distract Marco quickly. Which he did by asking about their weekend plans, and when Marco later dropped Ermal and Andrea off at the store again, there hadn't been any more talking about his love life. 

Marco drove away after directing another bright smile at Ermal, and when they walked back into the store, Andrea slung an arm around his shoulders. And Ermal smiled. He might not have a chance with hot Fabrizio, but he had the best friends in the world. And that surely was a wonderful thing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't forgotten about this story, and I hope you'll like the update! 😊

It was three days later when the little bell at the store's door rang, and after a quick look there, Andrea announced that he had something very important to do at the shoe department, so Ermal would have to deal with the new client. Ermal just nodded and walked towards the door, his eyes fixed on a list with orders in his hands. And then, he looked up, and was faced with a sight that caused his heart to jump two or three somersaults. Swallowing, Ermal continued to stare at Fabrizio, at his white shirt that wasn’t buttoned all the way up, the chaos of his hair, the charming smile showing off his dimples. He looked even better than the first time they had seen each other, and for a moment, Ermal was rendered speechless.

"Hi", Fabrizio greeted, and Ermal cursed Andrea and all his shoes to the moon, for he was sure that his friend had sent him to be the one to deal with this particular costumer on purpose. 

"Hello, welcome again", Ermal said, shaking Fabrizio's hand and himself out of his thoughts, and letting go of the other man’s fingers again right away, even though he didn’t want to. 

"I've come to pick up the suit." 

"Of course, let me get it for you", and Ermal was glad once he could turn around and escape Fabrizio’s enchanting chocolate coloured eyes.

When they passed by the shoe department, Ermal sent Andrea a death glare, only receiving an innocent smirk in return, and after looking around for a little moment, he found the suit that had been adjusted to fit Fabrizio just right. Ermal let his fingers roam over the exquisite dark blue fabric for a moment, and then handed the suit over, carefully, and with a smile. This time, Fabrizio actually used one of the changing rooms, and when he stepped out, the suit jacket now fitting his shoulders perfectly, Ermal's pulse might have sped up a little more than it already was. 

"It looks okay, doesn't it?", Fabrizio asked, glancing away from his own reflection in the mirror to look at Ermal from underneath his full lashes.

"Yes. I mean, no, it doesn't look okay. Better than okay, actually. Way better. It looks good. Yeah, very good", Ermal stumbled over his words, and somewhere behind the shelf with the shoes, Andrea had to bite into his lip to not start chuckling.

 

When Ermal smiled at Fabrizio, after forcing his eyes to leave the blue fabric hugging his muscles so nicely, the older man made a decision - the decision to listen to Giada. He might have been unable to stop thinking of a certain curly haired person during the last few days, and at some point, his friend had insisted that when picking up the suit, he had to ask him out. 

_"What's the worst thing that can happen, Fabri? He might turn you down, and? Then you never see each other again, and at least you've tried. And if you don't say anything, you'll regret this, I promise you that you will, sooner or later."_ And of course Fabrizio knew that Giada was right, already had known it back then. So he would try to ask him for a date, to ask out this young man whose name he didn’t even know. Fabrizio had realized this later on the day they met, that they never had actually introduced each other, that he didn’t know the other’s name, and when he had talked about him as _He_ , Giada just had copied that, a smirk on her face, and ignoring the fact that she probably did know his name. But Fabrizio had been too embarrassed to ask, his friend’s teasing already bad enough, and so he could just hope that at some point before or during the date, he would learn to put a name to those glorious curls and this bewitching smile. If the younger man would say yes to a date, which seemed rather unlikely. And if Fabrizio asked at all, which was challenging as well.

Fabrizio didn't really know how to ask, so he waited. Changed into his everyday clothes again (and yes, he had decided on a shirt he could leave partly open and a pair of jeans that he knew to fit him rather nicely today, and yes, okay, maybe this might be connected to a certain curly haired person somehow), paid for the suit, said goodbye to him. Smiled, shook his hand a little too long - and then, suddenly, Fabrizio was out of the store, after hearing a goodbye. And _oh shit_ , he might actually have missed his opportunity here.

Going into the store again was out of question, but what if he just.. happened to be there once certain curly haired people were ready to get home? It was late afternoon already, and a quick look at the sign displayed at the door proved Fabrizio right. In just 15 minutes, the store would close, so Fabri decided to smoke a cigarette or three while waiting in a side alley. Trying not to think about why he was there, how this might seem a little creepy, what he was waiting for. Whom he was waiting for. Not at all.

 

It took around half an hour and a lot of nerves on Fabrizio's side, until finally, _finally_ a certain curly haired person walked out of the store. He was wearing a leather jacket now over his shirt with a weird flower pattern, and Fabrizio wanted to dislike the look, but if he was really honest, he loved it. At least when being worn by this special person.

Fabrizio put out his cigarette, ruffled a hand through his hair and just started to make his way over there, when a little red Fiat pulled out of the traffic and stopped next to the wedding shop. The girl driving it smiled, and then his dear curly haired & flower patterns wearing dream boy got into the car. Hugged the girl, kissed her cheek, and off they drove.

With a sad little sigh, Fabrizio sagged back against the wall, gaze focused on his shoes. He was glad that he hadn't been quicker to get to him, cause damn, that would have been embarrassing - asking him out just to be interrupted by his girlfriend. Oh well. Now at least he knew. After another moment of swimming in self-pity, Fabrizio sent a quick text to Giada to let her know that everything had gone well with the suit, and then he called Giada’s fiancé, since Gabriele and him had agreed to go out with a few friends in the evening, and Fabrizio wanted to check where they’d meet. A few drinks in nice company sounded like just the right idea, to end the day nicely and especially to forget about a certain owner of happily dancing curls and flower shirts, who happened to be oh so taken.

 

Therewhile, Ermal felt his sister‘s gaze on him – not literally, since she was driving, and doing so with a little more responsibility than he himself sometimes did; but metaphorically. He could sense the questions she was about to ask lingering in the air like electricity before a thunderstorm, and with each moment of silence that passed by, Ermal got more convinced that she had noticed something. Because usually, Sabina and him would just be chattering about whatever happened during their work days, news from their friends, speculations about which wonderful food their mom might have cooked for their weekly family dinner, this and that. So if his sister was as silent as she was now, something had to be the matter.

“Okay”, Sabina finally said, once she had parked her car in the street parallel to the one where their mom lived.

Ermal replied nothing – once his sister had set her mind to something, there was nothing to prevent her from going there, but he wouldn’t do Sabina the favor of telling her what was up himself. If she wanted to know, she should ask.

“Fratellino, I’m gonna make an educated guess here. You’ve got a crush and you’ve got it bad.”

Sabina stopped for a moment, giving Ermal the opportunity to disagree, and when he didn’t, she saw her point proven.

“I haven’t seen that look on you since Carla was new at our school in 10th grade, and all topics except for her wonderful blonde hair had left your brain. Didn’t you even try to write a song for her?”

Ermal stayed silent, even though he remembered the song quite well, and something in Sabina’s gaze softened.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to tease you, or not too much. Just tell me if I’m right?”

“You might be right, yes”, Ermal admitted a little grumpily.

“Okay”, and Sabina smiled at him, “you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but you know that if you do, I’m here for you, right?”

“I do, and, thank you.”

“Of course”, and with that, Sabina opened her car door, but then turned around again in her seat to look at her brother again, “Just promise me one thing – if this crush should work out, introduce me to her at some point.”

“That’s rather unlikely”, Ermal answered, convincing himself that this wasn’t the right time to have a long overdue talk about a variety of pronouns of potential romantic partners with his sister. That could wait. And of course it would be a nice opportunity to come out to his family as bi by introducing a boyfriend, but as things were, Ermal was convinced that this potential boyfriend would be anyone but Fabrizio.

“Ermal? I’m sorry”, Sabina said softly, placing her hand on Ermal’s cheek, and he leaned into the touch.

“It’s okay, it’s just a stupid crush. It will go away again.”

Sabina didn’t answer this, dropped the topic, and with their arms linked, the siblings walked towards their mother’s flat. In the staircase, there already was a familiar smell lingering in the air, and Ermal smiled. One of his favourite dishes from his childhood was exactly what he needed after this day; the comfort of not only the taste but also the knowledge that while his mom’s paprika from the oven did still smell as wonderful as all those years ago, everything else in their lives was so much better than back then, a bright fire inside his heart, burning against the darkness of a crush for which Ermal saw no hope.

 

Spring turned into summer, one so hot that the trees’ bright May-green made room for dry tones of yellow and brown to rule the days, and on a Tuesday on which the whole city seemed to be trapped underneath the sun shining mercilessly from a pale blue sky not spotting a single cloud, Ermal was eating paprika again. This time, they weren’t cooked in the oven, but little fresh pieces improving the taste of his salad, and instead of his family, Ermal was in company of his friends. They were sitting in the backyard of the building that hosted the wedding store, enjoying the shade that an old oak tree was casting, and Marco was just telling about a bar that a new friend of his owned when they heard the doorbell ringing through the store’s open backdoor.

“I’ll go”, Andrea announced, putting down his salad bowl and hurrying towards the door, while Marco paused his story to wait for his friend.

“Can you hand over the ice tea?”, Ermal asked, and just when Marco and him had started a conversation about how lemon ice tea was one of the three things without which a summer like this couldn’t be survived, Andrea returned, a weird expression on his face.

“Everything okay? Who was at the door?”

“It was he delivery of the new lace clutches, you remember, the heart-shaped ones? They’re really cute”, and Andrea sat down, but Ermal sensed that there was something more to be said. That Andrea was not telling them something.

“Is there something else?”

“Well”, and Andrea produced a few envelopes from his shorts’ pockets, “the mailman also had a few letters, and I’m not sure if you want to see this one.”

“Why?”

“What’s going on?”, Marco asked, looking just as confused as Ermal.

“Whenever we sell a dress or a suit, we ask the people to please send us a few pics after the wedding, so we can present to future brides and grooms how the clothes might look in action”, Andrea started to explain towards Marco, “and we get quite a lot of those; people just can’t resist sharing the happiness of their own wedding. And, well, those have to be wedding pics too, but I’m not sure if all of us want to see them”, and with this, he handed the envelope over to Ermal.

Ermal took it, admiring the heavy paper sparkling with a light golden glimmer for a moment, and then looked at the name of the sender, even though he already knew it. Giada. Her last name now being a different one than when she had told it for the appointment to pick out a dress. Ermal hesitated for a moment, and then opened the envelope, his attention so captured that he didn’t hear Andrea’s explanation for Marco about who had sent those particular pictures.

 

The first thing that fell out of the envelope was a short letter, written on this pretty golden paper as well, decorated at the edges with a subtle flower pattern, and in a curvy handwriting, Giada again thanked them for helping to pick out just the perfect dress, and told about how it had been just perfect, like her whole wedding day. Despite everything, Ermal had to smile at that – he had liked Giada, and was happy that she had gotten the wedding she dreamed of. And then, when he already thought the letter had ended, Ermal’s smile froze on his lips. Because after her final greetings, Giada had added something else.

_PS: Fabrizio sends greetings too ;)_

Ermal held the paper a little tighter, his tight grip leaving it wrinkled, and he tried not to think about how this note nearly was bordering on cruel. Not from Giada’s side, Ermal doubted that she had noticed his interest, just as Fabrizio hadn’t, but from fate, in general. This just wasn’t fair, especially not after all those weeks, when Ermal at least could convincingly tell his friends that he’d be over his stupid crush on a stranger he only had met twice. Even if he didn’t fully believe this himself.

Now, all the feelings rushed back with full force, a bright memory of Fabrizio’s smile, and Ermal handed the envelope back to Andrea. If there was one thing he didn’t need to see, it was this smile while the man in question was getting married.

“I’ll be right back”, Ermal said while getting up from his spot underneath the tree, and he tried to put on a smile to reassure the worry in the eyes of both of his friends, “I just need a little moment for myself, it’s nothing.”

 

Andrea’s eyes sadly followed his friend while Marco snatched the envelope out of his hands, and after a moment, his words caught Andrea’s attention.

“I wouldn’t quite have guessed this to be Ermal’s type”, and Andrea shuffled a little closer, so they were able to look at the picture together.

The first one showed Giada, her hair shorter than when she had been to their store and softly curled, her dress fitting her perfectly and her smile seeming to light up the whole church, side by side with a man in a grey suit. A man whom Andrea was sure to never have met before.

“That isn’t Fabrizio”, he said, his eyes still fixed on the man who was missing both Fabrizio’s tattoos and his hair, or any hair at all.

“Oh?”, and Marco seemed even more curious now, “Maybe it’s her brother who was guiding her down to the altar, or something the like?”

“Maybe”, Andrea whispered, and then picked up the second picture. 

This one hadn’t been taken inside the church but at what had to be the reception later, fairy lights and the tables of a buffet in the background, and in the center of the picture, there was Giada, the angle perfectly showing off the belt made of little pearls crowning the dress. She wasn’t looking at the camera, no, she was dancing, and all of her attention as well as her bright smile were directed at the man who held her in his arms. The man who, once again, was wearing a grey suit and a bald head. Andrea blinked, confused, and when he looked towards Marco, he saw a curious expression on his friend’s face.

“Tell me, just how sure are you that the person that Giada did marry actually was Fabrizio?”

“Well, they’ve been here together to both select their clothes, and-“

“But did they ever actually _say_ it?”

“No, but-”, and Andrea hated to have be the reason for the smile forming on Marco’s lips to vanish, “Giada told Ermal about her kids, her kids that she has _together with Fabrizio_. How likely is it to have children with someone and to bring this someone along when you select your wedding dress, and to then marry someone else?”

“Well, just as likely as to only send wedding pictures with your brother, and not a single one with your husband!”, Marco answered, his fingers flipping through the remaining pictures.

At one point, Andrea stopped him, his fingers closing around his friend’s to indicate that he should make a halt at this particular picture. Andrea pointed towards the crowd of people behind Giada, alone this time, the bald man nowhere to be seen, but someone else instead.

“That’s Fabrizio”, Andrea said, showing the man in the blue suit standing next to the buffet with a wine glass in his hand. And while he was smiling at Giada, Andrea had to admit that he somehow didn’t give off the vibe of a man in the middle of his own wedding.

 

In the evening, Giada was just painting her fingernails in a glittering bronze colour in the blessedly cool bathroom when her phone rang, and with a small curse, she quickly closed the nail polish and answered the call, the number not being a known one.

“Hello?”

“Yes, hi, is this Giada?”, and the voice did ring a bell, a very distant one, but so far, Giada couldn’t put a name to it.

“Indeed. Who’s there.”

“Andrea, Andrea Vigentini. You probably don’t remember me, but I work in the store where you bought your wedding dress.”

“Ohh, of course I do, how could I forget a face as cute as yours?”, and Andrea could hear the smile in Giada’s voice even through the phone. “You did get the pictures?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling, or at least partly. I know this question is going to sound weird, and I apologize for that, but it’s really important.”

“Okay”, and Giada raised an eyebrow while leaning her back against the bathtub.

“Whom did you marry?”

“Wh- How do you mean that??”

Andrea sighed, hoping she wouldn’t hang up on him in the middle of a conversation that had to be rather weird for her, no matter what the answer to his question was.

“Your husband. Can you please tell me his name?”

“Bonucci”, and Andrea did recognize this from her sending address at the envelope.

“And his first name?”

“Gabriele. Can you now _please_ let me know what this is about?”

“So you’re sure that you didn’t marry Fabrizio?”

“That I- _what_? How on earth, why, how do you think I’d be marrying Fabrizio?”

“Well, you’ve been here together. And you’ve got children. Together.”

Slowly, things dawned on Giada, and she hoped that this misunderstanding didn’t reach as far as she thought now.

“Yes, we do. We were young and getting along well, things happened, and we got kids together, two of them, the very best thing that ever happened to any of us. And it took us a little time to realize that while we do love each other, do so a lot, it’s as best friends. That we’re meant to have a life together, but not as a couple. We’re the bestest of friends, which is also why he was the one I’d trust to help me pick out a wedding dress, and what I’ve got with Gabriele, it’s a totally different thing.”

“Wow, that’s, yeah, that’s good to know”, and while Andrea tried to take in this new information, he couldn’t fight against the hint of a smile forming on his lips.

 

“Why is it so important whom I did marry?”, Giada asked, and instead of answering, Andrea did ask a question himself, an even more important one.

“Is Fabrizio single?”

“Yes, he happens to be. Now be so kind to let me know if you’re asking this just out of general curiosity, or because a certain other person might be involved.”

“Well, if you put it like this-“, and the amused tone of Andrea was enough to confirm Giada’s suspicion.

She couldn’t hide a chuckle, but then, remembered something else than how gone her best friend had been for a certain curly haired man.

“So he’s not together with his girlfriend anymore?”

“Girlfriend, who’s got a girlfriend?”, and now it was Andrea’s turn to be confused.

“Ermal. He had a girlfriend when we met.”

“What? Believe me, I’m absolutely sure that he didn’t, really, no.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. He wouldn’t have been as interested in certain other people had he been in a relationship.”

“Oh, _interested_ you say? Well, Fabrizio-“, and right in that moment, Giada’s doorbell rang.

“Giada?”

“Shit, I’m sorry Andrea, I need to get this”, and she hurried out of the bathroom and down the stairs, the phone still pressed to her cheek, “But listen, it’s been a pleasure that you called, and this really is some fascinating information. Would you maybe like to go out for a coffee together, and talk about this some more?”

“Oh absolutely”, Andrea’s tone matched Giada’s in the level of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, “Would tomorrow be okay for you, after work?”

“Sure, I’ll text you the address of a place with fantastic coffee! Bye Andrea, and really, thanks so much for this call!”, and with that, Giada ended it.

Andrea was left with a happy smirk on his face, and called the next number right away. Those were some rather nice developments, and Marco surely would like to hear about them…


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks to my friends, for your constant support with this story, and in general! ❤️

On the next day, Giada left her office and sighed when a wave of dry hot summer air hit her the moment she stepped out of the wonderfully air-conditioned building. This must be nearly 40 degrees, and on another day, Giada would have headed straight towards home and taken a cold shower before picking up the children from school. But as it was, today, Fabrizio was taking Libero and Anita to go swimming, and Giada had other plans, though they were connected to her best friend. She walked towards the parking space, once again cursing the fact that she was driving a dark green car in these temperatures, and just when she had produced the key to her own little oven on wheels from the depths of her handbag, her phone rang. 

“Andrea, ciao”, Giada greeted, having saved the number the previous evening, and she hoped that her new friend wasn’t calling to cancel their coffee meeting, since she not only had been looking forward to it, but also saw it as a matter of urgency.

“Giada, hi, how are you?”, and after a bit of small talk, Andrea got to the point of his call: “Would it be alright with you if another friend of mine joined us in the café later?”

“Sure, why not?”, but seemingly, a little confusion had slipped into Giada’s voice, for Andrea exhaled in a laugh and then continued to explain.

“There’s this friend of mine, Marco, who also happens to be a very good friend of Ermal, and he’s just as interested in our mission as we are.”

“Mission?”, Giada’s laugh was bright like church bells cutting through a winter morning, “I like this, a mission. As if we’d be secret spies trying to solve a conspiracy.”

“Maybe we are”, Andrea answered, his voice just as joyful, “So I’ll just bring him along?”

“Yes, please do so; I’m looking forward to hear what you two will have to say.”

“See you, bye!”

 

About half an hour and a car ride giving off a convincing imitation of hellfire later, Giada sipped her iced cappuccino inside the café, and just when she had narrowed down her possible choice of cake to three favourites, she spotted a familiar head of curls near the entrance. With a smile, she raised her hand in a wave, and shortly after, Andrea had slalomed his way towards her table; another man, presumably Marco, at his heels.

“Hi”, Andrea greeted, and extended his hand a little awkwardly. 

Instead of a handshake though, Giada pulled him into a soft hug, feeling his curls tickle her cheek; and after Andrea had introduced her to Marco, a shy but nice smile between floofy dark hair and a light purple shirt, the three of them sat down together at the little table in the middle of the crowded café. 

Before any serious conspiracy business could be started, the two men had a look at the menu, and Giada witnessed with a little smile on her lips how Andrea’s eyes suddenly widened in delight and he then told Marco that there was home-made raspberry ice tea on the menu in the happiest of voices. Shortly after though, confusion took over, when Giada heard Andrea ordering a lemonade, and the blink of an eye later, her smile was back again, even brighter than before. Because it was Marco who ordered the raspberry ice tea, and the fact that Andrea had gotten so excited over something that his friend seemingly liked only made it all the more adorable to Giada. Those really were the perfect fellow conspirators it seemed, and that thought caused her smile to turn a little dangerous.

 

“Alright, should we begin?”, Andrea asked once he had a glass of cherry lemonade and a little strawberry tarte in front of him.

“Sure. So just to make sure that we’re on the same page here – we’re all a little concerned about Ermal and Fabrizio, right? And we’d like to help them to maybe get a little closer to each other”, Giada summarized, and both men nodded. 

“It broke Ermal’s heart to think about how Fabrizio was going to marry you”, Andrea explained, “And then he said he was over it, but he sooo wasn’t, and when we got your pictures, he wouldn’t even look at them. But luckily, Marco and me did, and we realized that it didn’t look as if you were marrying Fabrizio.”

“Yeah, _we_ sure did realize that”, Marco mumbled with a fond smile into his raspberry tea, and Giada suspected there was a story behind this.

But now wasn’t the time for it, there were more pressing matters, and so Giada quickly retold how quickly Fabrizio had caught an interest in the curly haired employee in the wedding shop, and how sad he had been to then find out that he had a girlfriend. When Giada repeated the description that Fabrizio had given weeks ago, his voice dripping in not too well disguised bitterness, Marco laughed, and then revealed to her who the girl in the red car had been: Ermal’s little sister.

“You know what, my friends?”, Giada asked with a light shake of her head, causing her earrings to tingle, “I think those two are just made for each other. Like, how prone to fall into a misunderstanding can you be? Sweet lord, I’m still not over the fact that Ermal thought I’d marry Fabrizio, and then take him along to pick out the dress to marry him in.”

“Oh believe me, we’ve had weirder things in the shop.”

“You have to tell me about them some day”, and Giada didn’t even question the implication she made that they’d meet again in the future – a wise woman once had said that there were things you couldn’t go through together without becoming friends, and to Giada, trying to play matchmakers for two idiot sandwiches par excellence certainly was one of those experiences.

“Sure! But for now, you really are sure that Fabrizio still would be interested in getting to know Ermal a little better? If there’s one thing we don’t want, it’s him getting hurt further”, Andrea said, his tone underlining just how much he meant it, and by his side, Marco silently nodded along. 

“Fabri absolutely is. I told him that I wanted to send some pics to the shop – okay, to be honest, I mentioned a certain someone to whom I wanted to send them, and you should have seen his face; the poor darling. He probably still would be too shy to ask Ermal out, but if we’d find a way to get those two on a date, he’ll thank us one day, I’m sure of this.” 

 

“Soo, how do you two know Ermal?”, Giada asked after a moment of silence – her impression of the young man with the magical curls had been a nice one, and she certainly liked his friends, but they still didn’t really know each other, and she wanted to be absolutely sure that he was someone who could make Fabrizio happy, for her friend deserved only the brightest of happiness. 

“I’ve known him since forever”, Marco started with a smile, “we met when we both were teenagers, and I wanted to sell my old guitar after having worked enough hours selling ice cream to be able to afford a new one. And somehow, I liked the kid who had heard from my neighbor who happened to go to the same school as him that I wanted to sell a guitar, and who came by to ask if he could buy it; his pockets filled with wrinkled lire he had made working extra hours in a bunch of after school jobs. There was someone else offering me a little more money, but Ermal talked about music with such honest adoration, I knew the guitar would be in good hands with him. I then offered to show him some tricks, and we quickly became friends, and, yeah. We still are today. He’s a little dense sometimes, but I love him.”

Honest smiles were exchanged over empty plates of cake, and after hearing Marco’s story, Giada turned to Andrea next.

“Marco introduced Ermal and me”, Andrea said, and then continued with a smirk in Marco’s direction, “A few years ago, my flatmate at the time dragged me along to a party, and I didn’t really know anyone there, so I had a look around, and suddenly saw this dude sitting there – in a corner, on his own, a face as if it had rained for a week with no break. So I went over there, to see what was up with this grumpy man.”

Marco snorted, before he offered his side of the story: “And I was sitting there, having a relaxed evening, just myself and a few beers, and wondered who on earth this over-excited idiot might be who wouldn’t stop talking to me, and had told me his whole life story after around 10 minutes.”

“Oh leave me alone Marco, you were glad to find such a delightful new friend to talk to.”

“I certainly am by now”, Marco answered, and playfully ruffled through Andrea’s curls.

“We then met to watch football together a few days later, and Marco brought Ermal along, and what can I say, they never got rid of me again. Around a year later, Ermal then was rather unhappy with his studies at university and looking for a job, and since my mom wanted to work a little less and we were looking for a colleague for me, I asked him if he’d be up to try to sell some wedding dresses. And I think after a while, Ermal got rather attached to the job – he’s still there after all.”

“He is, and he’s certainly great at what he’s doing”, Giada said, thinking back to buying her own dress, “Did Ermal ever have a boyfriend?”

For a second, there was silence, this was Ermal’s story to tell after all, but then Marco decided that a sentence or two couldn’t hurt: “No, he didn’t. He had a girlfriend for a longer time, some years ago, but things there didn’t end well. If I’d agree on conspiring together to get Ermal on a date, I’d really want to be sure that Fabrizio would treat him gently, should things between them work out.”

Giada nodded thoughtfully. “Fabrizio is one of the kindest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, and I really have a good feeling about those two. I think they could make each other very happy.”

“I agree”, Andrea said after another moment, and Marco nodded after a glance towards his friend.

“Wonderful! Soo, we’ve got a deal, that means we should plan now. Is there something that Ermal especially likes to do, somewhere he enjoys to go?”

“The beach”, both Andrea and Marco answered as if out of one mouth, and then both laughed, before Marco added: “He gets this dreamy expression on his face whenever there’s sand between his toes, rough sea wind in his hair, it’s rather adorable. And once he’s swimming, it’s a pretty difficult task to get him out of the waves again.”

“Hmm okay, the beach itself is a little too far away for a first date probably, but I’ve got another idea”, and once Giada had told her idea to the two men, they both happily agreed.

Even after they had finished planning a date for their friends and how to get them there, they still staid sitting together, shared some sandwiches and more stories for dinner, and when they finally said goodnight, Giada hugged both Marco and Andrea tightly.

“It’s been a pleasure to meet you”, Giada said when Marco brightly smiled at her, and she meant it – what a nice turn of events, that she had made not only one but two new friends here.

Giada got into her car that Marco and Andrea had walked her to, the air inside still too warm but bearable, and drove towards her home with wide opened windows and in a happy mood. There, she told Gabriele about their plan over a glass of wine, a smile on her husband’s lips and a quick agreement that he’d help with the plan, and after an overall successful day, she fell asleep in his arms.

 

At the same time, a few kilometers away, Ermal sat on his little balcony, a glass that was more ice cubes than Fanta in his hand, and looked over the lights of the city, shining like bright stars underneath a sky displaying just a faint echo of them; the air above the homes of millions of people not clear enough for the eternal light from outer space to shine through. He yawned, and then decided to go to bed, but not before a final look at his phone. There was a message from Marco, asking if Ermal would like to join for a barbeque the following evening, and after he had sent a thumbs up, he went to bed, very purposely _not_ thinking about a certain man with a bunch of tattoos and the most charming of smiles. He was over this. Officially.

The man in question was asleep already, curled up on one side of his bed to provide more space for his children – the air conditioning in the kids’ room had chosen this out of all days to stop working, so Fabrizio had offered them to join him in his room and avoid feeling as if in the middle of a grill in their sleep, and it seemed to work. The air conditioning above the door was providing blessedly cool air, humming at a low sound, and both Libero and Anita were breathing deeply in their sleep. Fabrizio also had left the window open, and the streetlamps’ light shining from out there had enabled him to watch his children’s relaxed faces while falling asleep, which was one of his favourite things to do in the world. Now, he was far gone into the realm of dreams; seeing images of the sea, hearing soft laughter and feeling a hand holding his own, and once he would wake up on the next morning, he wouldn’t remember the exact content of his dream, but how very much at peace it had made him feel…

 

The highlight of Ermal’s following day was a woman in her late fifties buying a wedding dress accompanied by her two daughters, bright happiness shining out of their faces looking so much alike, and after she had hugged Ermal tightly, he noticed that it already was later than anticipated, and that they’d close the shop soon. It happened only rarely that someone turned up there without having agreed on an appointment earlier, least of all on a hot Friday afternoon, and so Ermal and Andrea cleaned up, quickly had a look over the books, and then both went home for a quick shower, before they met again at Marco’s place in the evening.

Behind Marco’s house, there was a little yard with the houses around casting blessed shade, and when Ermal arrived there, he already saw a few friends gathered around the little grill, the food on it being overlooked by Marco’s watchful eyes. There were steaks, salads, pleasant conversations and some songs, and a while after the sun had set, when Ermal sat at a bench, his head resting against Dino’s shoulder and his thoughts just content in listening to the story that Andrea told, Marco sat down next to him. He was silent, not distracting from Andrea’s words, but Ermal could feel that there was something his friends wanted to talk about, and when Marco then asked Ermal to please help him carry some food inside, they both knew that this was about anything but the salad needing to go into the fridge. But neither of them mentioned it, as well as Dino didn’t, who just sent them a curious glance.

After the bowls of salad were cramped into Marco’s fridge, they started doing the dishes together, Ermal cleaning the plates up and Marco drying them before putting them away, and Ermal had just handed him the last plate when Marco started to speak.

“Hey Ermal?”, and there was something in Marco’s voice that caused a suspicion in Ermal’s mind that his friend wasn’t quite as confident about what he was about to tell as his cheerful smile would have promised, “I want to tell you something, and please let me finish before you say anything, okay?”

Ermal put down the sponge he had held in his hand and looked at Marco, his dark eyes curious but also holding a faint sense of dread. 

“What is it?”

“Well, I’ve got this friend, and she’s got a friend, and we’ve been talking the other day, and might have realized that there’s a possibility of the two of you getting along rather well. So we wondered if it wouldn’t be nice if you got to know each other, and, well, went on a date. Like, a blind date, all casual, having a drink together and maybe seeing if you like each other?”

For a moment, Ermal just looked at Marco, and then firmly shook his head.

“Nope. Not at all, no chance. I, Marco I’ve got no clue how you even had this idea; why do you think I’d like to go on a date with a random stranger? Oh shut up, don’t give me this raised eyebrow, I know what you want to say and it’s not true! I’m not still pining over Fabrizio, I don’t even know how on earth you got this idea!”

“I wasn’t going to say that”, Marco said, his low voice a sharp contrast to Ermal’s that had increased in volume and fierceness, “And I’m sorry, I really didn’t want to upset you with this. But if you’d just give the idea a little chance – you could just see it as meeting a new friend? I don’t, I don’t even know, want to force you into a relationship or some shit the like, but really, my dear, I know you, and I’m rather certain that you’d thank me one day for this. Could you give it a chance, maybe? Just go there, say hi to him, and if you don’t like it, just leave? How about I come with you, drive you there, and if you don’t like how things are going, we go home immediately?” 

Ermal seemed to consider this, and Marco was tempted to stop this whole charade and just tell him the whole story. But Andrea and Giada had been so delighted about the idea of selling this as a blind date, and it had sounded rather fun in theory, so Marco now was hesitant to ruin the surprise. And yet.. and yet, he didn’t like the guarded expression in Ermal’s eyes, and hadn’t it been for his friend to open his mouth again right in that moment, Marco might have gone and told him exactly with whom he’d have a blind date. But this didn’t happen, since Ermal started to speak again, his voice calmer now.

“You’d be there with me the whole time?”, and something about his tone of voice reminded Marco of the teenager he had met what felt like ages ago.

Marco sighed, and shook his head, before he not quite answered the question: “Okay you know what, forget this whole blind date business. I’m sorry, we shouldn’t have-“

“I’ll go.”

“What?”

“I’ll go on your blind date. I mean, I still don’t quite see the point, but if you think it’s such a good idea, I can give it a try”, and before Ermal had finished his sentence, Marco already was hugging him gently.

“You won’t regret this”, Marco promised Ermal’s shoulder after a moment of silence, and the curly haired man just nodded.

 

They didn’t talk much about the date during the following days, but when Marco asked Ermal if he was free the following Friday, his friend nodded, and once the weekend started lurking around the corner, Marco drove to Ermal’s place to pick him up. It took Ermal a few moments to get down, and once he did, Marco noticed two things. First, that Ermal had taken quite an effort to look good, with his curls bouncing up and down as floofy as possible, a nice fitting blue shirt hugging his chest and sunglasses tinted in red; and second, that this whole polished outfit seemed like an armor behind which his friend could hide. This wasn’t Ermal who never could resist smiling at a child or pranking a friend, who liked cuddling and had the most precious relationship with his mother and his siblings, no, this rather was a man who wanted to make the impression that he didn’t care too much about what might be happening, even if it was a blind date. The sunglasses mostly were hiding Ermal’s eyes, and Marco wondered if Ermal thought that once someone couldn’t look into his eyes, they also couldn’t hurt him.

After a greeting hug, they got into Marco’s car, and Ermal sat there, just breathing, very calm, nearly _too_ calm. As if he was focusing on his breath not to be speeding up, and Marco comfortingly patted his friend’s knee. He tried to get rid of the dark thoughts, to not become nervous as well – he after all _knew_ who was waiting as Ermal’s date, and how very well everything would turn out. And yet, he was rather glad once they reached their destination, and an end to Ermal’s uncertainty was coming in sight.

“Could you wait in the car?”, Ermal asked once Marco stopped the engine, and after a nod from his friend, he first had a real look at where they were: “Ohh, a beach bar, with real sand; I had heard they wanted to open a place like this but I didn’t know it already was!”

“I’m glad you like it”, Marco answered with a little smile, and then squeezed Ermal’s hand, “I’ll be here the whole time, got my phone right here, and if anything is going on, just call me. But I believe everything will go just fine.”

“Thank you”, and with that, Ermal got out of the car, ruffled a hesitant hand through his curls and walked towards the bar.

 

Ermal had just stepped inside the bar and noticed the wonderful photographies of the sea in all her tempers lining the walls when he noticed a problem. The place was rather crowded, it was a Friday night after all, and Ermal had no idea whom he was looking for. Shit. Marco should have given him a description of his date, or something to recognize them from, like a cliché-like red rose in their jacket, _anything_. But as it was, Ermal had no clue at all, and after a moment of letting his gaze roam over the multiple heads of happily chattering people, he got out his phone. 

“Ermal? Is he there already?”, Marco answered after the first ring, and the honest worry lingering underneath his friend’s words caused a brief smile to flash over Ermal’s lips.

“No, well, I don’t know? I mean, I don’t know how he looks like, or how to recognize him.”

“Oh sh-“, and to Ermal’s surprise, worry had now been replaced by something nearly like amusement, “Well, I promise you, you will know once he’s there.”

And before Ermal could further voice his confusion, Marco ended the call. Huh. Now this was rather weird. A little lost, Ermal looked around, ignoring the glance of a rather unfriendly looking blond man at the bar, because _surely not_ , and then, when he nearly had done a full turn on the spot, Ermal froze. The door had just opened again, and together with a rush of warm summer air floating inside the nicely cooled down bar, a man came in. A man whom Ermal did know. A man who hadn’t left his thoughts ever since. A man who was the last person on earth he had expected to see here. And seemingly, Fabrizio didn’t feel any different. 

 

“Hi”, Fabrizio said, or rather whispered, his face lightening up in amazement, but then, something nearly like sadness clouded over his eyes.

“Hello”, Ermal answered, and because words were hard, he asked a standard question, even though there were other things he’d have liked to know way more at the moment, 

“What brings you here, Fabrizio?”

“You remember my name?”, and Fabrizio’s smile might have been softer than cotton candy.

Ermal just nodded, and the older man then answered, after having swallowed, nearly a little uncomfortable: “Well, I’ve got a date, a friend organized this, and I-“

“You’ve got a _what_ now?!”, and Ermal’s voice got shrill enough for some other people to turn towards the two men lingering close to the entrance still.

“A date”, Fabrizio repeated, unsure what might have caused this.

“But what about Giada? And the wedding??”

“What does Giada have to do with this?”, and under different circumstances, Ermal might have called Fabrizio’s face in this situation comical. But not now, because he was growing just as confused as the other man, and underneath, there was anger lingering, and a fierce sense of protectiveness.

“What does she- You married her! She looked happier than I can imagine in a dream of a wedding dress and you promised her a whole future together and now just a few weeks later you’re here to go on a _date_!”, Ermal spat the last word, and Fabrizio’s eyes just got wider and wider.

“Hey. Stop. Listen to me. I don’t know where you get your informations from, or what even is going on here, but I didn’t marry Giada. Absolutely not. I was her best man, and she got married to Gabriele, he’s become a friend of mine after they started dating, and they’re a wonderfully happy couple. _They_ promised each other a future together. I, I didn’t, not with anyone.”

“So you’re single?”, Ermal asked, and his voice betrayed how emotionally compromised he suddenly was, even though his eyes still were hidden behind his sunglasses, “And you’re here to go on a date with some pretty girl.”

“No. Well, I don’t know to be honest, but from what Gabriele said, I don’t think he was talking about a girl. And pretty, well-“, and Fabrizio stopped himself by biting his tongue, before he could say something as stupid as _certainly not as pretty as you._ And then, an idea was born in Fabrizio’s mind. An idea that was stupid, was unlikely, and yet, so irresistibly wonderful that suddenly, he couldn’t believe in anything else.

 

“Why are you here?”

“Well, a friend set up a blind date for me”, Ermal admitted, and Fabrizio’s eyes lit up like stars on a summer night above the countryside.

“And how is that friend named?”, and the urgency dripping from Fabrizio’s voice surprised Ermal.

“Marco.”

“Oh”, and suddenly, dark clouds were covering the stars, “Of course, it was stupid to think-“

“Think what?”

“Well”, and the light blush suited Fabrizio’s cheeks so well, “Don’t laugh at me, okay? But, well, you’re here on a blind date organized by a friend, just as I am, and I thought maybe Gabriele knew your friend, so, you know, that maybe you, and I, but it’s stupid, why would-“

“How is Gabriele’s friend called?”, Ermal asked, his brain unable to process all the information, the implications, the hope underneath Fabrizio’s words.

“He mentioned that my date would be a friend of someone called Andrea, even though I never heard him talk about an Andrea before, I don’t know. But I think Giada might have known him? At least she seemed to do so when I told her.”

Ermal was silent for a moment, his eyes as wide as those of a happy child on Christmas Eve, and then he fished his phone out of his pocket. Dialed, with slightly shaking fingers, the same number as just a few minutes prior.

 

“Marco?”, Ermal asked, breathless, once his friend answered, and continued right away: “Tell me that Fabrizio is my date.”

Fabrizio couldn’t hear Marco’s answer, but he saw the smile on Ermal’s face once he ended the call, and then he turned towards Fabrizio, his eyes still wide behind the sunglasses, but oh so hopeful, a stray curl falling into his face, and Fabrizio rarely had seen a sight more beautiful.

“I believe that I’m your date”, Ermal whispered, taking the hint of a step closer, and there certainly would be a time for questions, for answers, for explanations, but it wasn’t in this moment. 

Right then, Fabrizio just reached out, to take off Ermal’s sunglasses with careful fingers, and to then gently tuck the curl out of his eyes.

“I can’t imagine anything that would make me happier.”

Their faces mirrored each other in blissed out amazement, and when they finally sat down at a little table together, staring at each other seemed to be the most tempting thing to do for minutes that also could have been bright hours. When a waitress came over to take their order of drinks, she was like an outside force inside their little bubble, and once she had left, Fabrizio shifted in his seat, his foot thereby brushing against Ermal’s. Who smiled at him, and then, offered a retelling of how his friend Marco had gotten him on this date.

“And I wasn’t too eager about it, you know, at least not about going out with a random stranger”, Ermal admitted finally, his fingers playing nervously with a shell that was part of the decoration on their table.

“Me neither”, Fabrizio smiled, “I wasn’t all too eager about going on a date with anyone, well, except maybe for one person.”

“Really?”

“Really”, Fabrizio confirmed, and thought about how well this shy little smile did suit Ermal.

“Me too”, Ermal whispered, and stopped playing with the shell.

Instead, he reached out, and let his hand lay on the table between them, palm facing up, and he looked at Fabrizio from underneath his lashes. At Fabrizio who, with a smile brighter than the sun these days, reached out and took Ermal’s hand in his, to intertwine their fingers. Ermal always had liked holding hands; already as a child, to hold his mother’s hand, as an anchor, or his siblings’, to know they were safe, Silvia’s, to know that they belonged together, his friends’, while sharing a fun experience. (Or during a horror movie, but Ermal wouldn’t admit that.)

Holding hands always had been pleasant, but there was something about the way that Fabrizio’s hand felt in his, something about how he caressed the back of Ermal’s hand with his thumb… Ermal wondered if he might have found a new favourite person to hold hands with. And the thought made him smile even more.

 

“Were you told any hint on how to recognize me?”, Ermal asked, later, an empty plate standing in front of him and a tiny light purple umbrella having found its way from his cocktail glass into his curls; the sight of how Ermal tried to pretend to not like this having been so adorable that Fabrizio felt the butterflies nearly bursting out of his stomach.

“No, none at all”, Fabrizio answered, only realizing now how badly this could have gone, “I wasn’t too eager to think much about this date business, but the more I’m thinking about it, the more I doubt if our friends did think this through at all.”

Ermal thought of some previous instances in which Marco and Andrea had planned something together, and snorted. “I guess they didn’t. We really easily could have missed each other, or ended up both sulking alone at a table the whole evening. And then? Nope, they didn’t think this through. I fear they’re rather disastrous at playing matchmakers.”

“Oh, I’m not so sure about that”, Fabrizio answered, his eyes fixed on their intertwined hands, “I think we should thank them later.”

“You sure?”, Ermal tried to hide his smile, and Fabrizio laughed.

“Very much so.”

“Okay."

"Otherwise I might one day have turned up randomly in your store again, being all heart eyes, and you’d have assumed I was getting married. Once again.”

“Hey, that was a perfectly valid assumption!”

“I see that it could be, from your point of view. But it isn’t. I’ve never seen myself to be the type to one day get married, so who might have thought..”

“Thought what?”

Fabrizio fixed Ermal with his chocolate brown eyes and his gaze was the most captivating thing in the world.

“Who would have thought that me out of all people would walk into a wedding store and fall head over heels there.”

Ermal didn’t answer that statement, at least not with words. Instead, he leaned over the table, luckily a small one, and met Fabrizio’s lips in the softest of kisses. It was barely more than a brushing of lips, and when they broke it, both of them were lightly giggling.

Outside, in the car, Marco was smiling down at his phone, and a text from Andrea, who expressed his delight about how seemingly, things were going rather well. A few kilometers away, Anita was taking a nap in Giada’s lap while Libero asked his mom with a curious glance if she might know why his papa had dressed so nicely earlier, and yet had been so grumpy – to which Giada just smiled, and promised that the grumpiness would have been short-lived.

And inside the restaurant, Ermal got lost in Fabrizio’s eyes, even more beautiful than all the pictures of the sea lined up around them. 

 

“Would you consider going on a second date with me?”, Ermal asked, later, much later, after he had texted Marco some quick words to tell him that he could go, that things were okay, that things were perfect; and after Fabrizio had driven him home.

“There’s nothing that would make me happier”, and with that, Fabrizio leaned in for their second kiss, burying one of his hands in Ermal’s curls to bring him closer. A kiss that certainly would be followed by many others.

The stars of a dark summer sky were shining brightly above them, and somewhere in a heat filled street in Italy, two men kissed each other, and finally, there were no misunderstandings between them anymore, just the bliss of two hearts falling in love with each other…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Love!! ❤️

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love it if you left me a comment!! ♥


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